Complete Results

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – University of South Alabama women's tennis freshman Laura Valkova (Piestany, Slovakia) accounted for two points, including a straight-sets win at No. 1 to clinch the match in the Jaguars' 6-1 victory over Bethune-Cookman on Friday at the City Island Tennis Courts.

With its seventh-straight win, No. 74 USA improved to 7-0 overall, while BCU dropped to 3-7 in their spring season.

Valkova teamed up with freshman Monica Mitta (Fairhope, Ala.) to secure the doubles point with an 8-3 win over Elizabeth Nyenwe and Gaby Chinchilla at the No. 2 spot. Valkova later handed Mina Matsuba her third loss this season with a 6-0, 7-5 victory in the No. 1 flight.

Junior Mary Angela Martin (Mobile, Ala.) and sophomore Cinta Maria Papke (Flein, Germany) picked up the first win of the day when they downed Chinatsu Kajiwara and Maria Dimitrova 8-1 on the No. 3 court. Junior Emily Newton (Dothan, Ala.) and sophomore Michaela Meszarosova (Bratislava, Slovakia) defeated Mina Matsuba and Maria Sablina 8-3 at No. 1.

"We played very solid doubles today," said USA head coach Jaco Keyser. "We did a good job of coming out with good energy and executing."

In singles action, Mitta remains undefeated after her 6-2, 6-1 victory over Sablina at the No. 3 spot, followed by Papke's 6-3, 6-2 win over Ancia Ifill at No. 6, putting the Jags up 3-0.

"We showed some good signs in singles with regards to constructing points and finding a better balance between offense and defense," said Keyser.

Martin topped Chinchilla 6-2, 6-4 on the No. 3 court and Newton added another point when she outlasted Kajiwara 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 in the No. 2 flight. Nyenwe claimed the only point for the Wildcats when she edged freshman Laura Matuskova (Bratislava, Slovakia) 7-6 (9-7), 6-2.

"The real take home from this trip is how we competed mentally, especially in the matches we lost," said Keyser. "We did a great job of staying the course and forcing our opponents to close out matches, instead of self-destructing. If we can keep making improvements on the practice court and not get complacent, we could develop into a real competitive team as the season progresses."

South Alabama returns to action March 4 at 1 p.m. as they host St. John's.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

—USA—